Have ya seen it yet?

The new Knitty is up! And much unlike the last issue (sorry last issue Knitty lovers) I adore it completely. I am dying so much to make these and these and these have actually made me reconsider gloves. Yes gloves, which I swore off forever after the nightmarish hot-dog finger incident I had trying to make them before.



Oh that photo makes me cringe so. Ok, yeah so there's also a pattern for some knitted wings in there (wtf??) and while this pattern is very, very pretty whenever I look at it there is a banshee in my head screaming "Hot Dog fingers!!!!! Hot Dog fingers!!!!" (Ok deep breaths... Calming down now...) Otherwise I really think this issue is such a winner. For me, this is what summer knitting is all about. The summer knitting, the socks, the handwarmers, the small things. I'm supposed to go to the Knit and Crochet Show in Pennsylvania next week. You can bet yarn for a couple of these things is going on my list of stuff to look for.

P.S. And don't forget the pretty, pretty beaded wristwarmer pattern. Someone in my knitting group made beaded wristwarmers a few months ago that had us all unabashedly drooling. Girls just love those pretty sparkles sometimes.

That is so cool!

So I sit down to watch my tivoed episode of Knitty Gritty yesterday and who is the guest knitter but Kelley Deal of The Breeders. And what do you know but she's showing Vickie Howell to knit a really cool bag that I will seriously contemplate for a future project? I always like to watch Knitty Gritty, even when it's something I wouldn't really consider knitting myself. But this bag was really cute. And it was so neat to see Kelley Deal on there. Even the husband was impressed. I love it whenever I can say "See? I told you it was punk rock!"

Happy 4th of July!

Even though as I type this New Jersey's state government is shut down due to a bizarre budget impass and I am the snarky type more likely to agree with Bill Maher than Rush Limbaugh on the current state of events I am fully cognizant of how lucky a person I am to live in this country. I hope everyone gets a nice day off and a happy 4th to enjoy doing whatever they like!

On another celebratory note Chris (also known as the Crocheter) got married!

Chris and Joe got married in May on the beach in sunny, gorgeous Bermuda. Sunday their families gave them a beautiful wedding reception in Sea Bright. Look how sweet and happy they are together! The Zebu knitting crew was all in attendance to congratulate the happy couple, laugh, eat and drink and willingly take part in the desert buffet!

Top row (l-r) is Tracy, Colleen, me and Erin, Bottom row (l-r) is Chris and Amy

It was so nice to be there to party with Chris and Joe and all, and we all had a great time, and without a single knitting needle in sight!

A forest in Jersey....

Well, the Forbes Forest scarf is continuing to grow. To me this picture shows just how slow this is knitting up. Granted, I feel like for some reason I haven't been knitting as much as I normally do (where exactly the time is going I have no idea) but still, the cables and bobbles and popcorns slow things up also. Still I think it will be very worth it, the pattern just gives it such a warm, springy texture, I think this will be a great winter scarf and I think the recipient will really like it.


The red toe up socks are moving along also. Come to think of it, these are my traveling project, so maybe I've been knitting on the road more than at home lately? Dunno. Anyway, the verdict is still out on the toe-up thing, I'm getting better at the short row toes and heels, but it's far from being second nature just yet. Another thing- this picture totally does not do this yarn justice. This is Brown Sheep Wildfoote sock yarn I got for a song at Stitches last year. The colors are mostly reds and purples but there is also brown (and maybe some greens) along where you can tell the dyes overlapped. It is very, very pretty. The only drawback? It's a little thin so these are being knit on size 1 needles. Which aren't that different than the size 2's I'm used to, they just seem kind of sharp to me, and they've definitely warped already from the warmth of my hands. A couple of them are pretty curved, but I'm going on and sticking it out anyway.

Btw-cool blog post of the week? If you have a minute, go to Say's blog for a fun read about one of the most exotic Stitch and Bitch meeting I've heard about in awhile. Also , there's some amazing sky photos and a bear encounter adventure that will definitely have you on the edge of your seat. Say is doing forestry work for the summer which is so cool. Last week I was complaining about having a barbecue in a tent? Well, she's spending her summer in one. Very neat!

Why our weekend sucked, and rocked!

We saw it coming. Our barbecue date for Saturday had been set weeks ago, but as it got closer and closer this week, the weather report did not improve. Words like 'torrential' and 'flash flood' threatened. So on Thursday we put our tent up which we figured would somehow avert the rain, because we figured of course with our luck, if we go through the trouble of putting up the tent, then it probably won't rain right?


But no dice, and we didn't want to reschedule, because what if we rescheduled and then the same thing happened? And we figured well, we could always all just go in the house right? We could make the best of it right? But well, it rained a lot. And it's just not fun to cook in the rain. But the show did go on, and all in all it looks like it went on ok.

Everyone liked the tent! There was plenty of room, and of course tons of food and drink is always a convenient distraction...

And yeah, we've had good barbecues before, and the weather's always been great. But this one we'll remember for awhile. Really, how lucky are we, we still had like 20 people or so show up and we all laughed and ate for hours. And you know these are all really true friends. I mean, I could probably get people in off the street to hang out in my backyard and eat my food. But these guys, in the crappy weather we had yesterday, they not only showed up, but they helped carry stuff in and out, and made me gin and tonics (trust me it rained that much, you'd need gin too) and helped us keep the propane and charcoals lit. Awww....

Knitting content to follow, I promise. This past week was spent cleaning up the backyard, putting up the tent, vacuuming, grocery shopping, etc. Don't worry, as exciting as all those activities sound, none of them comes close to beating out knitting for the favorite hobby position.

A weekend at the lake

Meet the in-laws!













This is Pennie. No she doesn't always dress to match the kitchen, this was a complete coincidence.











And this is Dom. Dom does not like having his picture taken so much. But he's a very good sport!

And this is their summer weekend getaway-the lake house

The lake house is quite idyllic. While it might be simple, it is quiet and friendly and relaxed and there is Satellite TV so I don't have to worry about my husband getting all tantrum-y over some stupid hockey game. Which you know is so stupid really, who wants to watch hockey when you could watch this-

There's also a lot of eating in to country, see that picture of Pennie in the kitchen? Yeah, she's there a lot. Pretty much once the breakfast dishes are cleared away, they start making plans for lunch. After lunch comes ice cream by the pool, then "cocktails" (see how idyllic there is? there is no "cocktail" meal in my dreary daily life!) and of course then dinner, and then snack. Oh and if you get hungry in between there's always something by the fridge. Oh and less you think "cocktails" are only drinks they are often accompanied by copious amounts of finger-food, dip, antipasto and ironically this weekend-shrimp cocktail.

But you know the best part for me of course right? You see this coming from a mile away. Of course the best part of the country is this

and also the fact that Dom and Pennie let me do this all weekend and often in front of their friends! And still to this day, they have yet to file a formal complaint regarding my marriage to their son. Because I totally realize to the rest of the world this probably looks completely bizarre. I don't really even look that relaxed. But I am. It is good. It is a very, very good thing.

Genius!

What was with that spacey post yesterday? I think I had a little touch of cabin fever. I am feeling so much better today. Especially after I heard my new favorite song EVER on Cast-on. "Knitta, please" is an amazing rap by Mike Bryant. Ok maybe not amazing (you do know I tend to get overly excited at times right?), but definitely reminiscent of rap in my high-school Digital Underground/Monie Love/Kris Kross days. And it's about knitting! How cool is that!!!

Ok, I know sometimes people don't want to do the whole podcast thing, so if you only have a few minutes please, please, please go here and if you scroll down on the right hand side of the page you can download or listen to this track for free. I promise you will laugh your butt off! He talks about 'don't take no flak from the crochet b*tches' and actually has the line "I like big needles and I cannot lie..." See? Genius I tell you. Yes, I've listened to it like 100 times already.

Oh and to the Fun-Fur Bandit posse I knit with on Tueday nights- guys I say once we get those new matching shirts in we gotta go and get us some nice high tops and big M.C. Hammer pants (you know, circa about 1990) and find a high school talent show where we can get on stage and lip-sync this song. Dude, we'd be like the coolest knitters in the whole school I promise!!!! C'mon who's with me???

Spaced out...

I missed work today due to a crappy migraine that has lasted way too long lately. I don't know about other people but I find the drugs that are prescribed for this problem particularly harsh-i.e. they usually make me feel kind of like maybe I'm in a coma but I can't be in a coma because I'm awake. Yeah, that spacey. Why anyone would ever take these drugs recreationally you got me, there must be some sick people in this world. Anyway, I'm a little concerned my sleepy behavior is starting to rub off on my housemates.

I swear I walked over him like 4 times before I took this. His ears twitched a little once so I know he's still alive, but otherwise he's pretty much in a kitty zone out session.

One cool thing that happened today? I got the idea to make this. It's a cool necklace/choker thing you make out of a ticket stub. How cool is that? Screw paying $40 for some stupid crappy t-shirt that doesn't fit me right or shrinks down to barbie doll size after one wash anyway? This is so much cooler. Only change I'll probably make? I promise mine won't be for Bette Midler like the one the lady one the show made. Hey there's a time and a place for Bette I promise, she's just not the first artist I'll put in my punk rock choker to show off, that's all...

I started my Christmas knitting...

Can you believe it??? No neither can I, but there it is-the beginning of the Forbes Forest scarf from Scarf Style.

I had originally purchased this yarn for another scarf from that book, Backyard Leaves. But it's not the yarn named in the pattern and when I started to get close to starting and was facing facts I realized the yarn was much better suited to this pattern, and this pattern is actually better suited for the recipient. So it's all good.

I had also bought myself a couple of goodies-the pair of Lantern Moon needles I bought for inspiration will have to wait until the next time I need a size 7. (Aren't those plastic Lion Brand purple needles just so sexy instead? Hey-they get the job done right?) I also bought myself this little tool to help me with my chart reading. (I'll blog more specifically about that later when I have a good picture of myself using it. Hint-it's awesome!) And so far the chart reading has gone pretty smoothly. While this scarf is probably the slowest knit scarf for me ever (what you see took me about 7 hours spread over 3 nights so far) I am really enjoying it and learning so much. Besides knitting bobbles and popcorns for the first time and learning about those, I think I'm just getting a lot more comfortable with chart symbols in general. I'm starting to try to know what cable is coming up by the symbol itself and not just referring to the key all the time. And on the wrong side rows I realized I'm really just repeating the stitches below. So the whole thing just feels very intuitive and I really feel like I'm doing something very new that will help me down the road with other projects. Very, very cool.

Ronald McDonald socks done

As I mentioned when I got back from last weekend's trip, I went back to the needles, hard. Put it this way-the first sock was started April 10- finished May 25. The second was started May 25, finished yesterday June 4. First sock took 46 days, the second sock took 11. Yep. Well that's what the first sock gets for being a traveling project for so long I guess.

Details- The yarn is Knit Picks Sock Garden in Zinnia. Which they don't even sell anymore. I knit them on size 2 bamboo dpns. Regular stockinette cuff down socks. I like the stockinette socks a lot lately. I like the lace patterns I've done, they're pretty and interesting but the stockinette just goes so fast and requires so little attention. It's great for car knitting, which is what my socks usually are. And it's nice that it goes fast, I made these a little longer than other socks I've made. This time I made the leg 8 inches before starting the heel as opposed to 7. I like it that they're a little longer, I figure I can wear them with boots in the winter when it gets snowy and cold and I'll be snug and comfy!

On a blog related note I just wanted to say thanks to all the cool people who leave comments on my blog for me. It's always so neat to get feedback and just to meet you guys and have new blogs to add to my list to read. I really appreciate it. So anyway, I just wanted to say thanks and hi and nice to meet ya! Happy knitting all!

Washington D.C.

Day 1: Holocaust Museum and all of the monuments.

A great but very, very full day finished with dinner at Zaytinya, which is a wonderful Greek tapas-style restaurant where you order a bunch of little dishes to make up your meal. Hummus, lamb chops, braised rabbit, lots of pillowy soft pita bread and a wonderful desert of medjool dates with olive oil ice cream (which sounds weird but was just so, so good).

Day 2: The National Zoo and Arlington Cemetary

The truth is the new baby panda was our main reason to inspire us to go to D.C. in the first place. And even though I had been there as a kid and seen a lot of this stuff before, it was still so great to go back. While I am not always the most approving person of the current state of politics in our country (ok major understatement) when you go to Washington you just can't help but feel proud and remember that so much of the culture of D.C. is the fabric of what really makes our country what it is. It's not an old city like Rome or Paris, but it is very, very pretty and has a lot to say about our people and what we've been through and where we are going.

Did I ever mention that the husband and I are major Foodies? Yep, and we were in all our glory Saturday night at Kinkead's. Fresh oysters and crabcake for appetizers. And then maybe the best entree I've had ever- flaky, buttery cod topped with crab imperial, with spinach, sweet potato puree and the cutest little tower of corn and country ham spoonbread all around the side. Desert? I may have consumed an embarrassing amount of creme brulee, however this cannot be confirmed as I'm pretty sure what happens in D.C. stays in D.C.

Day 3: Museum of American History and then the National Gallery of Art

The Museum of American History had great exhibits on the American Presidency, they also had a neat showing of dresses of several first ladies and a very moving installment on Americans at War. I however am chosing to show you a picture of Julia Child's kitchen and the Swedish Chef. Sigh... I know, but honestly that's just the stuff that really had me freaking out and jumping around like a six year old. That and there was also a little exhibit on Ella Fitzgerald, and the husband was nerdy enough to actually wear his Ray Charles T-shirt that day so I could take his picture in front of the Ray Charles Exhibit. (See I'm not the only nerd in the house) After that National Gallery of Art was amazing. While I'm really not that good an art person, I would probably sound really dumb to someone who actually knew what they were talking about, I do really, really love art and art museums. This one was particularly fun because there were just so many classic pieces in it I have grown up seeing all my life, and much like the actual Swedish Chef muppet Jim Henson used to stick his hand up in, there's just something cool about being in the same room with it and seeing it in person.

That night's dinner was at Cafe Atlantico where the Chef Jose Andres serves "contemporary signature cuisine and is inspired by the "Nuevo Latino" style." (See-foodie) It was good, we had guacamole made tableside which will probably never be topped, and I really liked what I had to drink (lush) but I ordered the wrong thing as an entree (its something I didn't like that much before so why would I like it now? who knows?) but the tres leches cake for desert made up for it...

Last thing, today was the day we got out of town but first- we had to partake in a classy, classy breakfast of what else? Chili dogs!!!!

Now while I honestly don't think I have ever had a chili dog in my life, I had to have one today because of course as you can see Ben's Chili Bowl is a Washington landmark! And when it's food made on a griddle, hailed by James Beard and Zagat, well you know I'm just going to be all over that. Of course this was not your ordinary chili dog- they call it a chili half-smoke. It's really a sausage that kind of reminds me of kielbasa, smothered with their dark brown chili (which is all meat, no beans which I think is how they make it west of the Mississippi usually and which I think I like better than the stuff we have here) with onions and mustard. MMM MMM! Breakfast of champions! Anyway, I will just say it was so good, let's just say I had more than one and if I could have it for dinner tonight too I would. Yes, it was that good.

Alas, we are back in Jersey tonight though, getting around for work tomorrow. Ugh. Little to no knitting progress to report. I know, I'm sorry, but tonight I'm back on the needles like a fiend. All that food and walking and fun, I think I went through a little knitting withdrawal...

Dishcloth is done!

And already in use! If it's not totally apparent already I really like making and using these cloths a lot. I like big ones like this to use as tea towels, but the smaller ones also make great washcloths, and I've even heard of people who really like using them to clean and dust. (Dusting? What is this dusting they speak of?) And at what $1.79 a ball for the Sugar and Cream yarn? It's just such a nice little knitting pleasure.

So tomorrow the husband & I are leaving for Washington, D.C. for the long weekend. Of course this means travel knitting right? What am I taking? Well, I'm taking the Ronald McDonald socks

These are my travel knitting so they have been taking awhile because they are not my main project. I like them, but I'm ready to start going onto new stuff so it's time to finish the one up and knit it's partner.

I have this bizarre notion in my head that somehow on this four day trip with a pretty full itinerary I'm going to get all this knitting done. So just to make sure I absolutely don't run out of things to do I'm bringing another sock I started:


This one is my first toe-up sock ever. Isn't it awesome? The first time I tried this I ended up going on a trip to the frog pond. The darn thing just came out completely uneven somehow. But I stuck with it and the second time is a charm. And now it all just clicks and makes total sense and I'm empowered with the new skill of the toe-up sock. Having bigger feet than I like and liking a slightly longer sock I worry about running out of yarn a lot of times. With the toe-up sock though- no need to worry right? No need to make sure I save enough yarn for the toe, I just knit until I run out. It's genius I tell you, pure genius! Wahoo!

Some spring color knitting

This is the woven dishcloth pattern from the Dishcloth Boutique website. In sunny Sugar and Cream yarn that was a lovely gift from Erin. I'm using 2 balls of yarn for this cloth, I like to make the a larger tea-towel size to keep by the sink for drying dishes out of the dishwasher and stuff. I really like how this pattern is coming out. I've used the honeycomb pattern seen here a lot and that's usually a big success. When people see that pattern, they ask me for cloths just like it. I think this one is just as nice and even less counting, which is always a good thing.

Can I get a witness?

Does anyone relate to this? I was recently invited to a "Pocketbook Party" at my friends house. Now I know many people who just squeal with glee at the mere phrase "Pocketbook Party." I however knitfriends do not. I'm a pretty practical gal when it comes to my pocketbooks so I did figure upon hearing about this, "Well that's good, it's about time for me to swap out my main pocketbook anyway." Apparently some of my friends found that so cute. Like I just have one main pocketbook? I don't change my pocketbooks daily to match my outfit??? Well sorry to disappoint folks but, no.

I am just not that much of a girly girl.

If there were a museum somewhere of pocketbooks of my life most of them would consist more of objects turned into pocketbooks. I've carried lunchboxes covered in stickers. Cigar boxes rigged up with duct tape to function as a purse. Small camouflage map pouches rescued from the army navy store. And then there were all those college years of lugging around so many books in a backpack you couldn't get me to carry another bag so I somehow got by on just smushing the stuff in my backpack or (gasp!) carrying my wallet in my pocket.

But I did enter the adult world at some point so I do carry a pocketbook now. The one carryover from those lunchbox days though, like most of my wardrobe, for me the pocketbook is almost always black. Hey, it matches everything, doesn't show the dirt-it works for me. And I figured well, they'll have to have some black there right? I should be able to find something. Plus I was looking forward to the 'party' part of this. Some good friends I hadn't seen in awhile would be there and I knew it would be a good thing.

And it was. I had a very nice time. Except for one thing- I didn't buy my new black pocketbook. There was only one black style there really, and it was a Coach knock-off and kind of big and gaudy for me. Oh yeah, did I mention that part? Everything there was a knock-off. Which is ok for some people. Me? Well, whether it's authentic or not, let's just say I'm not about to carry that huge gold bag that says Prada or Coach or anything all over it. I could care less what brand it is. Does it hold my stuff? Does the zipper close? Can I carry it and still have both arms available to carry other more important things? These are the issues I look for in a purse. Whether Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie or Richie Sambora carry the same stupid thing. I really couldn't care less. (By the way there were a group of 10-12 year old girls there just drooling over the fake Burburry/Coach/whatever wristlets and sunglasses there because you know, that was the one Jessica Simpson or her lackey or her manicurist or whoever has too. Sigh... I pray for the youth of today. I really, really do.) Anyway had I found a bag that met my basic criteria (black, holds junk, not the size of Texas) there and I liked it, knock-off or not I would have bought it.

Anyway, all is not lost, while there was no pocketbook material there for me I did realize I did find one thing that I thought "Hey, I could fit my knitting needles in here." And it's pretty cute! Meet Kate:

Yep, that's my new Kate Spade knock-off knitting bag. Perfect for the smaller summer projects (socks, lace scarves, dishcloths, etc.) I have lined up. The fashionista crowd thought it was a little over the top, that is was a little fancy for a knitting bag. But I don't think so because I figure when it comes down to it, my cell phone, my palm pilot, sunglasses, make-up case I couldn't really give two craps what I'm carrying that stuff around in. But the knitting, my knitting. Now that is where my heart is. And that's the stuff that's going to get carried in the pretty bag.

New Socks

Pattern: Diamond Rib lace pattern with an Eye of Partridge heel from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. Not as hard as it looks, I promise. It's an 8 stitch pattern that goes over 8 rows and the most complicated stitch is an ssk. (See and you can do that!) The heel to me is just magic, it's not much different than your normal ribbed heel but I guess somehow the pattern has the slipped and knit stitches staggered and that's how you get the diamond effect there.

Yarn: Oh don't ask... More of that white Kroy stuff I'm cursed with that I will finish all of someday. This was from when I started knitting socks for my family and they would be like "Oh... You want to knit me a pair of socks... Well, most of the socks I wear are white..." And then that lasted 5 minutes because when they started to see all the other stuff I knit with, they abandoned the white very, very quickly.

Overall review: I like these socks, I will enjoy the finished project more than I enjoyed knitting them at times. I made the mistake of starting these as a transportable travel project, I realized however that even though the stitch pattern is not that complex, it does take attention. So these took me awhile because I would only work on them at certain times- Monday night I tried to finish them and was all ticked off at this stupid work related nonsense and I kept screwing up. All in all, I would knit lace socks again. Not this pattern necessarily because I'd rather try something new, but these were a fun adventure, it's really cool seeing how they came out and I can't wait to add them to my wardrobe.

Happy Mom's day all!

Hope everyone's having a great Mother's Day! I had hoped for a cute pic of me and my mom to post but honestly it just never got taken because we were just having such a nice day as it was. It was a quiet hang out kind of day. We watched some baseball, I introduced my mom to my other new addiction and I made a huge meal for me & hubby, my mom & the in-laws. We had lamb, spring asparagus, twice-baked potatoes with goat cheese and finished up with angel food cake and fresh berries with cream. All have gone home now and I'll complete my weekend with the Simpsons, the Sopranos and some knitting. Happy Mother's Day to the moms and Happy Sunday to the rest of ya.

Finished sweater!

Details:

Pattern: Knitting Pure and Simple Summer Cardigan #221 This is a top-down raglan sleeve cardigan which means I started with the neck, knit down and then knit the sleeves in tubes and the body back and forth in one piece. Not rocket science, not complicated Fair-Isle that's going to get you oohs and aahs at the next Sheep and Wool Festival, but no seaming involved (which = bliss) and the result is a simple garment that fits and in this case does not make people reel at you and go "Oh did you knit that???" (My non-knitting co-workers said they had no idea it was something I made myself, but who knows they might just be good liars) This is the second Knitting Pure and Simple pattern I've done though and I have to say I would really strongly recommend them as ideal first-sweater pattern suggestions. Not that hard to figure out, and because you can try them on as you knit them, you're more likely to get something that fits you well.

Yarn: Knitpicks Main Line 75% Pima Cotton, 25% Merino Wool I liked this yarn, the only thing that I'm not crazy about is that the colors are very muted, this means the black is not that black, it looks kind of washed. For some reason at one point I worried I was not going to have enough (I chose to make my sweater longer than the pattern suggested) and ended up having like twice as much yarn that was needed. The leftovers? Going back to Knitpicks, to make room for-you guessed it- more yarn.

Model: Why do I look so goofy in this picture? Is this how I usually look at the end of the day? Yeesh! Anyway, I'm pretty happy with the sweater. It's a little heavier than I thought it would be, not sure I'm going to be able to use it as a 'something to throw over your shoulders option' in June and July as I had pictured. However, it was fine for yesterday since this week in Jersey has been cloudy and not that warm at all. Just in time for the pedicure I got last weekend. Of course...

P.S. Thanks so much to Tracy for being my photographer. In addition to taking my picture she also had a sticker like this for each of us last night:

She's such a peach! Thanks Tracer!

Sunday...

Yeah I was hoping to have a FO to share today, but as you can see, I'm losing light and I'm just now figuring out where the buttons go. But I'm almost there, I'm thinking there's a strong possibility this will be in my wardrobe this week!

Also, I haven't listened to Cast-On this week yet but I could not help but notice this little item on the web page from a Canadian women's magazine website:

Strategy guide for the Stanley Cup widow

I especially love this part:

Leanne of Hamilton, Ont., will be knittin' instead of bitchin'. "During the playoffs this year, I'm going to make my husband something special," says the part-time journalist and full-time mom. "I'm going to knit a cardigan. Since he'll be watching hockey every night for two months, I'll have plenty of time to finish it."

God bless you Leanne, you have attained a level of patience with sports-widowship I can only dream of. I on the other hand will be knitting my husband a very special handkerchief. As he is a New York Islander fan there are still tears to be absorbed as he watches all the other teams fight for the remainder of the season.

I'm still here....

Sleeves are done and the new addi turbo is here!

Tonight the bottom ribbing and neckband begin!

Multitasking

I figured the stockinette from the yoke to the waist on my cardigan was going to take years. But yesterday I tried it on just for kicks and was totally psyched that it's pretty much where I want it to end before I knit the ribbing on the bottom. Only problem? I must have had a brain lapse at some point because it turns out I didn't have the size 5 needle I wanted to use for the ribbing. (Oh gosh do I have to order from Knitpicks again? Ca-ching!) Anyway, then of course I wondered what I could possibly do in the meantime while waiting for said size 5 needle.

You guessed it. I got out my smaller circular and picked up the stitches for the sleeve. I'm thinking that maybe even by the time I get the needle for the ribbing I might have both sleeves done! How neat would that be? Verrry happy knitting thoughts about this.

On a more sombre note I know some people still think the podcast thing is a little nerdy but once again I have to give my 2 cents and just gush some more about how much I love Cast-on. If you have a free hour somewhere in your life I strongly urge you go to the page and click on the 'Listen to Episode 21' button. This weeks podcast is just so good. It is all about tragedy and strength and beauty and how even though bad times can be so tough, they really are what make the good times all the better. Bring your tissues and open up. I promise it's a good cry and it will not disappoint.

Digging in...

I had one more sweater I wanted to get done before it gets too hot. This is Knitting Pure and Simple's Summer Cardigan #221.

It's going very well so far. I'm using Knitpicks new yarn Main Line which is great. A nice cotton merino blend, I think will be good for summer. I like that, cotton doesn't bother me like it does some people. I don't think it will be too heavy for the warm weather, at least not from my very air conditioned office. And it doesn't really bother me knitting it, it doesn't seem to hurt my arms or wrists like it does some people I guess. This is a good thing. Because since I am only slightly (only slightly of course:) larger than the model pictured here, it looks like it may take me a slightly longer time to knit this sweater.

Yeah. I figure I have another 10-15 inches of stockinette to go. On the body that is, then there's the sleeves, the buttonband, the neckband... But that's really ok, sometimes I am more of a process knitter than a project knitter. I likes me some tv so 15 inches of stockinette is ok. Also before the big knitting addiction hit, remember I was spending most of my time crocheting afghans, so I'm used to long rows. I just hope the weather can cooperate. Meaning-it's supposed to be 72 today, and 78 tomorrow. Every once in a while more and more I'm getting that yucky summer knitting feeling. The yarn seems to stick a little, or now lately, the sweater feels kind of heavy on my lap. A definite harbinger of the sock and lace knitting season to come. I just have to hang in there and dig in. I just have to stick to it right? I think I'll make it.

"Must.... finish... one more... sweater... before... heat wave... arrives..."

Hoppy Easter!

I wasn't really going to do an Easter post today. I know, I'm a crank, but it feels kind of forced. Besides the fact that I have come to the realization that Easter does have the best candy. (Peeps? Hello?) I've also come to the realization that we're not really big Easter people. We visit with family and do the big meal thing, but when I think about it Easter is a pretty religious holiday. And in this house we are unfortunately pretty much heathens. We sleep late on Sundays (never go to church), never miss a South Park episode (this alone will probably earn me a fiery aftermath) and have been known to say a few swear words here and there. (A few?)

But oh well, that all went right out the window when I woke up and the first thing I saw this morning was this:

It's the Easter Bunny! In my backyard! And look he brought a friend too!

How cute is it that they decided to pose for me like that on either side of the evergreen? And on today of all days! Of course I do have some reservations. I'm not so sure about this being purely Easter Karma. We're a little behind on the spring cleanup in the backyard so I'm pretty sure the overgrown grass out there is just like a big version of the Sizzler for these guys right now. After the bunnies hopped off a few robins dropped by to get their piece of the action too.

Happy Spring/Easter/Passover everybody!

A brush with fame

Last night I went to East Rutherford with some of the Fun Fur Bandits and the Crocheter to go see the Yarn Harlot.

Here she is displaying her knitting style of 'armpit knitting' which is officially called 'cottage knitting.' Before this she talked for a little while, telling us some great stories. Reliving some of the events of the Knitting Olympics. Telling a story of what it's like to go out with her uber-cool record producer husband only to be outed as a knitter. She is entertaining and humorous and intelligent and so down to earth. And I think she makes a great 'knitting ambassador' to the rest of the world. Because let's face it, the rest of the world often has a pretty skewed view of knitters. A lot of the time I think they basically consider us as a bunch of Hello Kitty characters or something.

After her talk she took some questions, one of which was to display her knitting style as shown above. She then signed her book which I bought there and posed for pictures.

This part is kind of all a blur to me. There she is posing with my sock. I felt I should ask something creative when I finally got up to meet her. All I remember is I kept giggling and sweating and making snarky comments about our affiliation with the Crocheter. Sorry Chris! However, Stephanie I suppose is used to overwhelmed knitters like me meeting her with a mouth full of marbles. She just remained her very cool self, and had an even better idea. A picture with my sock and her sock together!

My sock is a regular little stockinette sock I started the other day because I realized on the trip to the museum that that white sock would be waaay to complicated to work on when I went to see the Harlot speak. It's a Knit Picks yarn called Zinnia. I have since renamed it the Ronald McDonald Colorway. Red, yellow and orange? Whoa! So I now have 3 projects going at once. More on that later.

Anyway, it was a joy hearing the Harlot speak. Anyone who has a chance to check her out in their town do so! It is a much better way to spend an evening than watching that stupid Howie Mandel show again. (Who in god's name brought Howie Mandel back to tv????)